Pedro Sánchez, Spain’s New Leader, Returns From the Political Wilderness

In 2015, Pedro Sánchez, a
Socialist leader, used a
televised election debate
to mount a stinging attack against Mariano Rajoy,
then Spain's prime
minister. It backfired. He accused Mr. Rajoy of
overseeing corruption in
the conservative Popular
Party. "The prime minister
must be a decent person,"
Mr. Sánchez told Mr. Rajoy. "And you aren't." But Mr. Rajoy kept his
cool, brushed off the
accusation and went on to
use it as evidence that Mr.
Sánchez was a
disrespectful politician. On Friday, it was Mr.
Sánchez who presided
over the downfall of Mr.
Rajoy, using the corruption
charge against the prime
minister to devastating effect. After a court ruling
found that Mr. Rajoy's
party had benefited from a
slush fund, Mr. Sánchez
orchestrated a
parliamentary revolt, winning the backing of a
majority of lawmakers to
oust Mr. Rajoy through a
vote of no confidence.Source:NewYorkTimes